Good, bad and puzzling moments from Grammy Night

Random thoughts from the first three hours of last night's Grammy Awards (and people complain about the Oscars running too long) …

Raise your hand if you were holding my breath when Whitney Houston showed up at the top of the show. Whitney + her history + a microphone in front of a big audience at an awards show = high potential for weirdness (kind of like with Mickey Rourke). Thought for sure that moment was coming when she pulled up the slit of her dress and referenced the boots in the U2 song prior. But it turns out she was only mildly odd as she introduced Clive Davis, overly E-NUN-CI-AT-ING words and leaving really long pauses … between … words. She looked healthy though.

Nice touch by Simon Baker on the Buddy Holly glasses. Too bad the Recording Academy didn't see fit to pay tribute to the 50th anniversary of Holly's death, especially since the milestone occurred within the same week as the broadcast.

Why was Dwayne "The Rock'' Johnson there babbling on about rock 'n' roll from the stage? Yes, because he has a movie coming out, but seriously, why?

Interesting phenomenon: When you pair Miley Cyrus with someone other than her dad – like, say, the talented and cool-headed Taylor Swift -- and limit her to primarily singing and minimal speaking, she immediately becomes less annoying. Genius.

Could anyone look more uncomfortable and out-of-her-element at a music awards show than Nicole Kidman? For an actress, you would think she could fake it better. Bet if the cameras had worked the crowd during Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline'' (and why didn't they, by the way?), she would’ve been the only one not singing along.

Lil Wayne apparently wasn’t listening when President Barack Obama advised, "Brothers should pull up their pants.''

Thank goodness for Paul McCartney, who at least looked like he was having fun onstage and in his seat. Those endless shots of him from the crowd make him the Jack Nicholson of Grammy broadcasts, followed closely by Jamie Foxx.

If you didn't tear up Jennifer Hudson's acceptance speech at the beginning of the show when she thanked ''my family in heaven and those who are with me today,'' certainly you must have after her stirring performance of ''You Pulled Me Through'' later in the night.

Yikes on the Natalie Cole cleavage. Notice how the up-close camera angle cropped her off above, um, The Danger Zone?

Say what you will, but that Justin Timberlake is likable. Props for holding his own with Al Green.
Ditto for Kid Rock, for having the good humor to flash his own mug shot on the giant video screen during the ''I'm no saint'' lyrics of ''Amen.''

Somebody should've told Adele to stick her gum under her seat before she got up onstage to give her Best New Artist acceptance speech.

"Raising Sand'' by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss deserved all five Grammys it got. But man, Plant looked old in HD. Then again, he's a Led Zeppelin god, so who cares.

Did you hear the thud when Blink-182 announced they're getting back together?

How obnoxious was the set for Katy Perry’s performance of "I Kissed a Girl''? And just when we were all starting to forget that song, too. She made her entrance in a banana – yes, a banana – and then performed amongst a cluster of glittery fruit. Giant fruit in an underwear ad is one thing, but at music's most prestigious night? Come on.

-- Kendra Meinert, kmeinert@greenbaypressgazette.com